Nectar and Ambrosia
by SweetDragonSeeker
Summary: Annabeth has fallen ill, and recieves an unexpected visitor.


**Hi everybody! I have finally aquired my own account (a gazzilion thanks to hjaltalin's owl for sharing hers with me until I could get this one) and I am reposting all my stories here. Please enjoy!**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the stuff in it. Would be nice, but I don't.**

_**Nectar and Ambrosia**_

CCC

Annabeth turned over in her bed in the big house, unable to find sleep. The darkness seemed to press in on her, and her skin burned with fever. She rolled over again, trying to get comfortable, and as she did so she heard light footsteps enter the room. She groaned silently.

"Percy? Percy is that you? Go back to bed."

No one answered however, and the footsteps continued to approach the bed. When whoever it was reached her bedside, they paused. Annabeth was starting to worry that a demon or some other monster had managed to slip past the wards and into the house, when a cool hand reached out to gently touch the burning skin of her cheek. She closed her eyes; she knew that touch, and she should push him away, but she couldn't bring herself to do so.

"Hello, Annabeth." he murmured softly.

"What are you doing here, Luke?" she asked quietly, as he brushed a strand of hair back from her face.

"Came to see you." he sat down on the edge of the bed, stroking her cheek soothingly with his thumb.

"You shouldn't be here." she lifted her hand, searching for him, and he caught it in his, brought it to his face, and kissed her palm before releasing it. She smiled and rested her hand on his cheek, feeling the jagged line of his scar beneath her fingers.

" I know I shouldn't be here." he murmured, withdrawing his hand from her face and moving it to cover her free hand that still lay on the sheets.

"No, you shouldn't." she sat up, drawing her hands away from him to push her hair back from her fevered face. She still couldn't see him, so she reached over and lit her lamp; it was almost dead, but it cast enough light to illuminate his silhouette and allow her to make out his face. He looked at her, a small frown on his face.

"You're so pale." he said quietly. Annabeth sighed. She really should call Argus or Chiron, or at the very least send him away, but she couldn't; not yet. Instead she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him.

"Missed you, Luke." she murmured. He wrapped his arms around her in return, and she buried her face against his shoulder, breathing in the scent of leather and some kind of spice she would always associate with Luke Castellan. Everyone else who'd come in to visit her today had smelled of dust and sweat from training, and, in Percy's case, blood; Clarrise had distracted him, and he'd managed to fall on a sharp stone and bloody his forearm.

Luke held her close, hands moving soothingly on her back, and he kissed the top of her head lightly.

"I missed you too." he murmured almost inaudibly.

Annabeth closed her eyes, happy to have him with her again, even for such a short time as she knew they had, when there was a sound in the hallway outside the room. Luke's hands stopped moving, and for a moment both of them held their breath. When nothing else happened for several more moments, however, they relaxed and Luke's hands resumed gently massaging her back. He rested his chin on top of her head, and said, very quietly,

"You thought I was Percy when I came in."

She nodded against his shoulder. "He came in three times since I fell ill this morning. And I didn't exactly expect _you _to visit." she replied, equally quiet. She felt his sigh stir her hair.

"I'm sorry." he whispered. She pulled back from him slightly to look up at his face.

"Why?"

He knew what she meant without her having to say it. He looked away.

"We both have to fight for what we believe." he told her quietly. She searched his face, then nodded reluctantly and relaxed against him again; she didn't like it, but she knew there was nothing she could do to change his mind. So she would savor this moment.

"How did you get so sick?" he asked, concern lacing his tone. She shrugged slightly.

"I woke up, went out to train, and found out I was burning up. Couldn't even walk straight. I've taken nectar and a bite of ambrosia, but it isn't much better yet."

He drew back slightly now, looking down into her face. He moved one hand from her back, resting it instead against the side of her face, his thumb stroking her cheek lightly. She gazed up into his eyes, wishing she could erase the worry she could see in them, wether it was for her or for something else. He stared down at her for a long moment, then, slowly, he leaned down to kiss her. She tightened her grip on him and sighed against his mouth. His touch was better than nectar, his kiss sweeter than ambrosia. At last they drew apart, and he leaned his forehead against hers, both of them breathing slightly raggedly. After a few more long moments, his eyes flicked to meet hers, and then he pulled away, not looking at her.

"I should go." he got up, but she caught his hand before he could leave.

"Stay?" she asked quietly, not wanting to lose him again just yet. He gave her a long, searching look, then slowly sank back down on the bed, pulling her into his arms once more.

Annabeth woke to sunshine spilling in through her window, and sat up in bed, looking around. Sometime during the night the lamp had been turned off. She remembered falling asleep in Luke's arms, but couldn't remember him leaving. She sighed, reaching up to run a hand through her hair, and realized a note had been tucked into her hand.

As she heard footsteps approaching in the hall, she carefully unfolded the note and read the two words written in Luke's scrawl.

_Miss You_

She closed her hand around the note and smiled slightly, hardly noticing when Percy and Grover bounded into the room. However, as she turned to face her visitors, she noticed that sometime during the night, her fever had broken.

**CCC**

**So, what did you think? My first attempt at both fluff and Percy J., so please be nice, but I really do want your opinion, so review, review, review! **


End file.
